International gambling heavyweight Entain has strengthened its position in Canada’s iGaming industry with the CA$300 million (£174/€207.2 million) acquisition of Avid Gaming.
According to an Entain announcement, the company acquired Deis Ltd. (Avid Gaming’s parent company) from Middlebrook Investments in a deal that includes online sports betting and gaming brand Sports Interaction (SIA).
The announcement states that Avid Gaming exclusively licenses its Sports Interaction trademark and provides proprietary online betting and gaming products and services to the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (“MCK”) and the Mohawk Online socioeconomic initiative.
Mohawk Online, which is wholly-owned by the MCK, currently operates Sports Interaction in Canada.
Speaking of the deal, Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, grand chief of Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, said:
“Entain is a world class operator with a genuine desire to positively contribute to the communities in which it operates. Kahnawà:ke is well known in the gaming industry, not only for our internationally recognized jurisdiction through the Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission, but also for our socio-economic initiative, Mohawk Online.
This new partnership between Entain and the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke is mutually beneficial, and brings with it prime opportunity for bolstering our self-sufficiency through the continuing success of Sports Interaction.”
Will Golby, CEO of Avid Gaming, added:
“We are delighted to be joining forces with Entain, which is an exceptional company combining world-class brands, strong leadership and a winning strategy. It has a unique approach to local markets, and no other company of its scale consistently delivers so many well-executed, localised approaches to the same level of customisation and detail.
Entain’s commitment to sustainability, responsible gaming and community investment aligns exactly with our own business philosophy, and we look forward to a bright future together.”
In the company announcement Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of Entain, explained the reasons behind the acquisition:
“Sports Interaction is the leading Canadian sports betting and gaming brand and is aligned perfectly with our own ambitions of great customer service and ambitious growth, coupled with an unwavering commitment to sustainability.
It is highly complementary to our existing operations in Canada, and the combination of its local expertise and Entain’s powerful platform will provide customers with an unrivalled range of exciting and engaging products in this fast-growing market. We look forward to welcoming Will Golby and his team to Entain.
Investing in the communities where we operate is a key pillar of Entain’s sustainability strategy. We are therefore delighted to be supporting the Mohawk Online socio-economic initiative.”
The 2021 financial year saw Sports Interaction generate revenues of CA$76 million (£44.2/€52.4 million) combined with an EBITDA of CA$18m (£10.5/€14.4 million) This resulted in pre-tax profits of CAD $17.4m (£10.1/€12 million).
The deal compliments Entain’s existing portfolio of Canadian brands, PartyCasino and BWin.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.